Loony

by totallynotabrony

14: Unexpected, but not Unwelcome

There wasn’t much time to plan, but Carbon insisted that he host an event in honor of everypony saving the day. Even still, the food was good and the drinks were plenty.

It certainly fueled the social aspect. The group had gradually formed a rough circle to talk over what went right and what could have gone better.

Tammy still couldn’t find help to cover her work and Doria couldn’t make it to Carbon’s house, but most everyone else directly involved in the case was there.

Carbon was not in the work clothes that Roxy usually saw him wearing, but was still as sharply dressed as ever. He had warmed to the situation and was already swapping magical genetic theories with Roxy.

The two of them had already decided to pursue further study of Lunar Behavioral Duality. Maybe, just maybe, it might be possible to cure ponies like Buttercup.

Roxy had gone to see Buttercup earlier in the day. The meeting carried its usual air of confrontation, but Buttercup had at least seemed pleased to know that Sisal was canned. Roxy would have to talk to her again in a few weeks and thank her properly.

Amid the other guests at the get-together, Seabreeze clutched her drink and stayed quiet. It was the first time Arc had ever seen her out of uniform, but her mane was still up and she didn’t appear very relaxed.

Being kidnapped hadn’t been good for her, although the battery of military and law enforcement ponies debriefing her, not to mention the evaluations by physicians and psychiatrists, had apparently run her nerves almost as ragged as the actual event.

She’d made the decision to tell an altered version of events, one that preserved her job, kept the Shades under wraps, and didn’t paint herself as too much of a hero. In the end, her name had been kept out of public reports, and she was still in the Navy but contemplating an additional position with the Shadows.

Granite was also not in the mood to talk. While Sisal was now locked up, Smoke Screen was still out there somewhere, and he seemed to take that personally. Unlike everypony else, he only drank water. His morose expression looked like he was trying to light the carpet on fire with his mind. Apparently he was actually just staring, because he probably could have pulled it off if he really wanted to.

“Come on, it’s just a missing piece of the puzzle,” Harv said, attempting to console him. “We got everything else that we found to fit together. Sisal’s locked up. The gryphons and minotars are backing off because the terrorists inciting violence lost their source of weapons.”

“They certainly are less effective without her support,” Proficient added. “They couldn’t have pulled off the stadium bombing themselves. At the same time, Sisal couldn’t have put together enough henchponies to steal high tech missiles from the Navy without their numbers.”

“Henchponies?” asked Roxy. “Is this a spy thriller or something?”

“Better,” said Harv, grinning.

Granite let out a sigh and relaxed slightly. It wasn’t a laugh, but the joke appeared to have loosened him up somewhat. “Not the craziest case I’ve ever seen, but a hell of an effort by some rookies. I think some congratulations are in order.”

Proficient nodded. “Indeed. Arc, Roxy, we couldn’t have done it without you.”

Granite took out two metal badges that featured a lighthouse flanked by the sun and moon. They had unique numbers and he gave them to the two newest members of the Shades.

The crowd was small, but the applause was genuine. Under the appreciation, Arc and Roxy stood close, hooves together and intertwined.

It was good to feel accepted by the group, although they were more important to each other. Husband and wife, partners, mutual support. Coming together, they kissed, ignoring the others cheering.

“Huzzah!” called a voice from the doorway leading into the kitchen.

“Princess on deck!” yelled Seabreaze, shooting up from her seat and bowing low as everypony turned towards the newcomer. The crowd of Shades hastily bowed, some spilling their drinks in the process.

Princess Luna nodded. “Please be at your ease, –” her horn glowed and she waved a hoof, “– and let us spare the rug of our good Carbon Lattice from further injury."

Carbon’s eyes grew wide as dinner plates. “P... Princess Luna’s in my house!” He began to hyperventilate.

“Your majesty,” said Proficient, “welcome to our little investment ceremony. We are both grateful for your presence, and surprised.”

“Pish-posh, mage. I simply wished to thank you all personally for the services you have so competently rendered to your fellow citizens and the crown. In our estimate, you have already saved several hundred of our little ponies’ lives. My sister and I are most grateful.”

Everypony bowed again, with the exception of Carbon whose tongue hung slightly out of his mouth while his coat seemed to be in the process of changing color. As he rose from his bow, Granite’s horn glowed and a small sphere of energy appeared around Carbon’s muzzle. A moment later the stallion’s breathing slowed and his color resumed its more natural tint.

Luna moved forward to stand in the middle of the group. “I also wished to tell you that your efforts may have a much more far-reaching impact on our kingdom and even the world than you might think. The arms supplier you thwarted was part of a major effort to destabilize Equestria and our closest neighbors. We are uncertain who is behind these efforts, and what they stand to gain, but we do know that the parties responsible have a marked preference for the employment of Loonies, as you call our children of the night.”

Prof and Harv exchanged glances. Princess Luna turned to Roxy, who was still clutching Arc's foreleg.

“Make no mistake, these ponies are dear to us, and we wish to encourage Ms. Deoxyribonucleic in her efforts to ease their plight. You will be given those resources you need to progress your investigations.”

Roxy gulped and bowed, humbled by the recognition, thankful for the support, and impressed that the Princess had so precisely pronounced her full name.

She turned her gaze to Arc. “As to you, –” she raised a dark eyebrow, “– do try not to make it a habit of shooting down aircraft within our cities.” She leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “Our thanks for taking such good care of Roxy, she deserves a good stallion at her side, and thou hast measured up."

Leaning back she then turned her focus on Seabreeze, who had stood at attention the entire time despite the princess’ entreaty to be at ease.

“Petty Officer Seabreeze, we have seen the unease that the need for obfuscation of these events has placed in your heart. Thou art a gallant member of our armed forces, and know that your assumption of this burden is appreciated, as your distress in doing so is a credit to your character. Please consider it a direct order from the crown in your capacity to assist the Shades in their work. Your are herewith absolved of any charges of perjury related to your testimony to the crown’s law enforcement and courts of law in this incident.”

Seabreeze visibly relaxed. Luna smiled brightly and she scanned the room, looking each pony in the eye.

“Our duties are such that we must now depart. Again, my little ponies, huzzah!”

Without a sound, the Princess of the night disappeared. Nopony moved.

Carbon's eyes were still wide as dinner plates. “P... Princess Luna was in my house!” He began to hyperventilate again.

His assertion broke the tension, which dissolved into laughs and gasps as ponies started breathing again. They fell into groups, each discussing what the Princess had told them.

Arc and Roxy sat on their haunches next to each other and gazed down at their new badges. And then, ignoring the jubilant crowd around them, kissed again. This time there were no interruptions.

Author's Note:

A big thank you to my editor Dafaddah, without whom this story probably would not have been possible. He's a pro.

Comments

[metallusionsismagic]

“Your majesty,” said Proficient,

Capitalize
You can breathe now, Carbon, The Princess is in another castle.
What foul manner of fiend could want to disrupt Truth®, Freedom©, and the Equestrian Way™? I hope we find out in future tales! And Granite's right, that was a good showing by those rookies. I am surprised (relieved?) that Carbon and Sea Breeze's almost too convenient appearances were not signs of being enemy agents... yet. (They could still be plants, I suppose, which would be worse now that they're on the inside.)

[Talguy21]

I so love this universe... and I don't even like cop shows. I'd be really happy if another Shades story popped up... Hint hint...

[totallynotabrony]

5240792 Then try You Can't Have it All and Back in Town

[Talguy21]

5243693

Seen the second one, certainly will read the first when I can. Thanks for the list!

[Humans Are Not Gone Yet]

Will there be any more shades stories? I really love the universe!

[totallynotabrony]

8556176
Some work has been done. Unsure if it will ever see the light of day.

Also, check comments below.

[Humans Are Not Gone Yet]

8556326
Well, I'f you ever decide to publish them, I'll be here! I loved Back in Town and You Can't Have it All.

[Hexy]

Bravo, I must say. Perhaps not as polished and immersive as Itchy and Scratchy, but a wonderful ride all the same. I will mention there were a few questions brought up, then seemingly ignored, such as why Buttercup left a sing rocket launcher to be found, as opposed to the entire stash. I also would have liked to see their specialties more extensively utilized and held a more fundamental role in the story beyond just getting them into the Shades (perhaps Arc being a weapons expert could have made more frequent use of his weapons knowledge to investigate their trade patterns, and Roxy could maybe use her nose to track down targets, or her hidden strength to surprising effects).

However, for that last complaint, I am a little biased, since I was drawn to your story by the promise of lycan stuffs (I am on a massive vampire/lycan/werewolf kick, hence why I also read Itchy and Scratchy). While I admit I was a tiny bit disappointed in the small role Roxy's lycanthropy played, the rest of the story more than made up for it.

[totallynotabrony]

9808673
Thank you, and your comments are noted.

Massive vampire/lycan/werewolf kick?
Back in Town is set in the same universe as Loony.
You may also be interested in the Vampire Cheerilee series.

[Hexy]

9808699
I did notice those, and considered looking into them. My kick initially was just vampires, so I started with Fluttershy as a vamp, and eventually ran out of stories that I was interested in enough and were not fruit bat, because I want actual vampire, so I jumped to Vampire Vinyl. It was then I found that one really big story where Vinyl is a vampire and Octavia is a lycan when it suddenly shiften into a lycan/werewolf kick. I was hesitant at first to read Itchy and Scratchy because the roles were reversed, but did anyway and loved it. So I wanted more lycan stuff, but since lycan stuff is a lot less prevalent than vampire stuff, I could not afford to be picky about characters, so I found this. Remembering you did Itchy and Scratchy, I decided it was worth the gamble, and it was.

Basically, my point is I am mostly on a lycan/werewolf kick now, but vampires are always a great bonus, so I may look into Back in Town, but for now I am too tired to muscle past my picky hesitance, as it is almost 8am and I have not slept because I was too busy reading this story front to back.